Wolf-PAC has started a University of Colorado Boulder chapter, hoping to give the power of elections to the public instead of corporations. (Photo Courtesy of wolf-pac.com)
Wolf-PAC, a bipartisan grassroots organization dedicated to keeping corporate money out of elections, has started a chapter at the University of Colorado Boulder. The group seeks to end corporate personhood, the legal recognition of a company as an individual, through the enactment of a 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Wolf-PAC is just now starting in Colorado, and I believe the ideal place to start it is in Boulder, and the ideal place to start it in Boulder is at CU,” said senior math major Ryan Knight, who has been heavily involved with bringing the organization to campus.
Knight, who found out about Wolf-PAC from watching the online news show “The Young Turks,” said he wants to see CU emerge as a leader in the fight against big money in politics. Under corporate personhood, companies are able to make massive political donations, which Knight said undermines the voting power of true individuals.
“When you have unlimited spending in elections, the interests of big corporations become more important than the interests of the constituents,” Knight said. “They can use money to sway people.”
Alex Mazzola, Wolf-PAC’s Colorado state director, asserts that control over the outcomes of elections has slipped from voters’ control into the hands of corporations.
“It’s the people who are writing the checks that are calling the shots,” said Mazzola.
Wolf-PAC encourages people to call their state representatives multiple times to address the possibility of a Constitutional amendment, and to sign a petition, which already has over 50,000 names. The goal is to engage enough Wolf-PAC members and volunteers in enough states to form a bipartisan network with a number of politicians who support the cause.
Knight said the fledgling CU chapter has about nine people involved.
“We are just starting out,” Knight said. “We don’t have a lot of support yet. I think it’s very feasible that we can do this. The trick will be organizing people and getting them active.”
More on Wolf PAC’s mission and upcoming events is available on their website, http://www.wolf-pac.com.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Samuel.klomhaus@colorado.edu
